


In Spring We Come Home

by TheCaptainOfThisFleet



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Enchanted!Yunho, Heidi Elements, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn, Witch!San, Witch!Seonghwa, Witch!Wooyoung, Witch!Yeosang, it's so slow they don't even meet until like halfway through, mingi is only in the epilogue sorry, there's some violence in chapter six, updates twice a week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 10:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 12,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22848310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCaptainOfThisFleet/pseuds/TheCaptainOfThisFleet
Summary: Far up on the mountainside, there was a village. It's name was Yangdong, and when it became habitable in the summer months, the shepherds brought up their livestock to graze the mountain meadows.Seonghwa was not a shepherd, but he loved Yangdong all the same. As a witch, the mountain provided him with hundreds of herbs and flowers to use in potions and ointments, and as a quiet-loving person, it provided him with months of peace after spending winter in his mother's shop in the capital.Yunho was not a shepherd either, but he lived on the mountain, and so he loved it. He liked the summer months, when the shepherds brought their livestock. It was less lonely in those months. And it meant his old friend would come to visit him.-Or: Seonghwa is a spellbreaker witch, and Yunho is in need of spellbreaking. Set on a mountain, because I love mountains.
Relationships: Choi Jongho/Kang Yeosang (Mentioned), Choi San/Jung Wooyoung (mentioned), Jeong Yunho/Park Seonghwa, Kim Hongjoong/Song Mingi (Mentioned)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 77





	1. Chapter 1

It was cold when Yunho woke up.

Winter was not completely over yet, but he could tell spring was close. Still, it was cold, and Yunho wouldn't have gotten up if it wasn't for the gnawing hunger that made him restless.

The snow was still almost knees deep when he went outside. It hadn't frozen and was powdery and soft. When Yunho kicked it, a whole cloud of snow flew up, tickling his nose. The air smelled cold and clean, and Yunho breathed in deeply.

The mountainside to the west looked aflame in the light of the rising sun, and for a few minutes, Yunho just stood there, watching the spectacle. The phenomenon would only return in late summer, when the sun set right in between the mountain tops. The rock walls of the mountain to the east would glow golden, signalling the end of summer.

Yunho couldn't wait for the time in between the burning mountains.

Life was still asleep beneath him, and would stay so for a few more weeks, but when it awoke, it awoke beautifully. The flowers would bloom in all colours of the rainbow when the snow melted away, ranging from blue to pink to orange and yellow. If you searched carefully, you could find black and white, and even green flowers. Yunho liked to lay down in the flowery fields sometimes and just breathe in. It always felt like the mountain itself was alive and was happy to have Yunho roam its flanks.

Now was not yet the time, though.

When Yunho roamed the village on the mountainside now, there was nothing here. The houses stood empty, doors boarded against the storms. This winter, several small avalanches had hit the village, destroying several small pastures for livestock. He snooped around in there, being careful not to disturb the already fragile structures.

The shepherds that would return when spring turned into summer would spend days complaining about the broken fences. He didn't want to make life any harder for them. Even in summer, the mountain was unforgiving, and Yunho had seen his fair share of people falling into ravines and fissures and loosing their sheep to wolves.

Still, he was happy for them to return in summer. It got lonely in the winter months. Quiet. Yes, the mountain was alive, and there was plenty of entertainment such as scaring marmots. But something about life on a mountain was different if one was surrounded by people, hearing them talk, seeing them live. It made him less lonely, even when he avoided encountering the shepherds one on one. Just having them exist around him, even if it was without him, was enough.

Rotten leaves crunched beneath him as he passed by the tree line and he could hear the telltale sign of a deer taking off. His stomach grumbled. It was high time for lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this entire story is pre-written and pre-edited, so expect bi-weekly updates! (and by bi-weekly I mean twice a week, how insane is that?!)
> 
> This was supposed to be way more Beauty and the Beast-y than it turned out, but I hope you enjoyed it either way.
> 
> Come say hi to me on [tumblr](https://thecaptainofthisfleet.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/thisismyfleet) if you want.


	2. The Last Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the one where Seonghwa and Jongho travel to the mountain village in spring, and the one where Seonghwa collects snow.

The first few weeks of the alpine summer were Seonghwa's favourite. He always was the very first person to move to Yangdong in spring, cleaning up his cottage and getting ready for a summer full of potion experiments. Those first two months of solitude gave him time to recharge his energy after a winter spent in Gwachon, the province capital down in the valley.

Neither was he used to the sheer masses of people that passed his mother's shop every day, nor the air filled with coal smoke. If he could, he would live in Yangdong all year round, but even in summer, resources were sparse on the mountain. Winters were harsh down in the valley, and even more so this far up a mountain. Down in the valley, April was already considered spring, but winter still reigned over Yangdong more often than not. Seonghwa had never actually travelled to Yangdong this early in the year, too worried about late snow storms and avalanches. The year before, he had been snowed in near the end of May, unable to get out of his cottage for a whole week before the snow even attempted to melt. The whole year had been bad for him. The wet and cold summer had forced him to return to Gwachon earlier than he usually would have, and his stash of alpine ingredients ran out in February. Even if this year turned out to be the same, Seonghwa didn't have much of a choice than to take the risk of April weather. Luckily, the weather omens had promised a dry year and a long and hot summer.

The air was still cold and stole Seonghwa's breath away in wispy clouds.

  
  


Jongho walked ahead of him, sure footed and confident, not in the least influenced by the heavy backpack he was carrying. Seonghwa had known Jongho since he had been a child, the boy being two years younger than him. Every year, when Seonghwa came up to Yangdong to experiment with his magic and collect ingredients for the winter, Jongho led his father's goats to the summer grazing grounds. Ever since Seonghwa had started living in Yangdong on his own, at the age of sixteen, he had shared his summer living space with Jongho. They were similar, Seonghwa and Jongho, in their quiet nature and their love for the mountains. The silence that enveloped them for most of their trek was familiar and comfortable.

“ _Hyung_ , are you alright?” Jongho asked out of nowhere, stopping to look at Seonghwa. Seonghwa had stopped a few paces earlier to look down at the valley. This had always been his favourite view on the way to Yangdong. The world always seemed so small when he was surrounded by the mountains, suffocating even. The closer to Yangdong they got, the more he felt like he could finally breathe again.

“Do you ever feel like suffocating down there, Jongho?” he asked, watching his cloudy breath dissolve. Jongho looked at Nampo at the base of the mountain, where he lived during the winter months with his parents. He was quiet for so long that Seonghwa gave up on an answer.

“Sometimes, I guess. Right after we bring down our goats, for the first few days. But it's safe down there, too. The mountains protect us.”

Seemingly satisfied with himself, Jongho nodded and continued walking.

  
  


Getting to Yangdong wasn't as hard as one would think looking up from Nampo. It took barely over an hour for experienced folks, longer of course if you didn't know the way or were bringing cattle with you. As soon as they reached Yangdong, Jongho started complaining about the destroyed goat enclosure that hugged the side of Seonghwa's cottage. Seonghwa left Jongho to fuss over the toppled and broken fences and went to unboard his front door.

As he opened it, he took in the heavy dust, and especially the hole in his roof, right above the hay loft. He would definitely need to repair that first, but for now he would just cover it with tarp. They could sleep in front of the fire place tonight to avoid freezing.

But only if Seonghwa got rid of the thick layer of dust first.

  
  


After a sunbathed breakfast and watching the light slowly crawl down the hills towards the still shadow-striken valley, Jongho prepared for his return to Nampo. He would return with more supplies at the end of June, with all the other shepherds. Seonghwa tried (for the n-th time) to make Jongho take a pendant for safety, but the boy refused. Seonghwa still hid the pendant at the bottom of Jongho's knapsack without the younger knowing. It was illegal to do so, to use magic on people without their knowledge or consent, but that had never kept Seonghwa from doing it anyway. He assumed most of Jongho's clothes had at least one of his sigils sewn into them, making Jongho basically invincible to the mountain's dangers. He just had to hope Jongho never found out.

“Don't fall, Jongho. It's a painful way to die,” Seonghwa said instead of a goodbye.  
“Don't freeze, hyung. It's a lonely way to die,” Jongho answered without looking back.

Seonghwa waited until Jongho was out of his sight before he moved back inside his cottage to start his preparations for the day. Usually, he would start with airing out the cottage, but with the hole in the roof, that wasn't necessary.

The first night on the mountain was always the worst. Even when they reached Yangdong in the early afternoon, Seonghwa lacked the time to thoroughly clean up, and the thought of all the dust and dirt made him itch for days afterwards. Every time he breathed, he felt like he was back in the city, suffocating in coal dust again. Considering his very neat nature (that bordered on compulsive, he was not above admitting that), living on a mountain was a very bad idea. Everything was dirty up here, smeared with months worth of dust, months worth of pollen, and all sizes of crawling creatures.

  
  


In the end, it took him almost two weeks to get everything in order. He patched up the roof rather poorly and hoped Jongho and Hongjoong could actually help him replace the burst rafter. The same avalanche that had destroyed the enclosure for Jongho's sheep was also responsible for a couple of other disturbances in Yangdong, and in the end, Seonghwa didn't get around to actually start collecting flowers and herbs until well into May.

By now the air was not burning in his throat anymore, the sun had grown stronger, and most of the snow had melted away. Now travelling through the fields was actually fun. Still, Seonghwa wrapped his feathered coat tighter around his shoulders. If he got sick up here, there was no one to help him.

Most of the gentians had already bloomed, but they weren't on Seonghwa's list of priorities. He could gather some to sell to evokers that didn't want to climb the mountain themselves, but Seonghwa wasn't particularly interested in the art of evocation. His mother always told him that it was in their nature as abjurers to dislike evokers. They were on opposite ends of the spectrum, with one being destroyers and the others being protectors.

There was still the bachelor's button, the hare's ear and many more first blooms to gather though. Seonghwa wasn't even searching for flowers though, even when he had seen a batch of mountain violets. Today, his quest was a different one.

Snow.

It felt ridiculous, harvesting snow this late in spring, but according to the potion books he had bought off of a travelling enchanter the last snow of the season was more powerful than any kind of blessed water. When used in potions that were supposed to help end things.

Shade enveloped Seonghwa as a cloud covered the sun, cooling the air for a moment before it passed. Spring had finally won over winter, breathing life into nature. With every step Seonghwa took, grasshoppers took off in all directions, chirping angrily at him. Pollen stuck to his feathered coat, and Seonghwa couldn't wait to leave it in the cottage during actual summer. It was a pain to clean.


	3. Chapter 3

Summer was right around the corner. Yunho could hear it in the songs of the cicadas and the birds. The eagle that lived farther up the mountain circled the sky silently, waiting for its prey.

So did Yunho, but entirely less deadly than the eagle. He was waiting for marmots to come out of their hiding spots. Scare The Marmot was probably his favourite game during the early summer weeks when the village was still empty. Sometimes he laid still for literal hours, flowers tickling his nose and the sun beating down on his back, just to wait for the perfect opportunity. Sometimes he fell asleep in the sun and only woke up when the marmots whistled in panic and the eagle swooped down.

Other times, he waited just long enough for the marmots to feel safe before jumping out of his hiding spot. He liked to be as loud as possible doing so, because it sent every marmot on the hillside into an erratic hiding attempt. Sometimes he even found one that had been too brave and had moved farther away from the burrows, and chasing those was also fun, even when his ears rung for the rest of the day.

  
  


On this day he laid stretched out on his look-out spot, a flat rock high above the village. It was perfect for spying and enjoying the sun. Somewhere far to his left, he could hear a marmot whistle, but the cow bells were louder than anything else. Summer was hard to miss when it was heralded like this.

The shepherds were coming back to the village to let their livestock graze up here during the summer months. The constant flood of cows and sheep made Scare The Marmot almost impossible, but goats were almost as fun to observe. They liked to climb up the most impossible rock walls and often had to be rescued by their keepers.

Yunho liked to watch the procession that led the animals and the humans up the mountain. The cows had big bells around their necks, and the people wore yellow leather trousers and red vests. The children with their bowl hats squealed as they danced around the boulders with herds of goats.

Somewhere among the group travelling to their summer homes was Yunho's friend. He usually travelled farther at the back, because he wasn't very used to walking up the mountain as briskly as the cows and the goats did, so he hung back with the sheep.

Yunho's favourites had always been the cows. He liked the sheep when their wool coat was thicker than it was now, and he liked how lively the goats were. But the cows were special. They were big and had bony bodies, but their noses were very soft and they were very nice.


	4. Alpine Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the one where summer starts and Hongjoong joins them. It's also the one Seonghwa is a sweetheart in (but when isn't he?)

The spring in the mountains passed faster than Seonghwa anticipated. One would think he was used to it now, after years and years of living in Yangdong. He wasn't, and sometimes, it even took him by surprise.

This year, it did. Having spent two full months on his own, he had lost track of time passing. In the morning, he left his cottage to gather some butterworts to ease one's breathing, and when he came home during late afternoon, Yangdong was full of people and livestock.

Not that he minded. While Seonghwa did treasure the silence of the summer grazing grounds when there was no livestock actually grazing, he was happy to actually be able to talk to people again.

He found Jongho in their cottage putting away flour.

“ _Hyung_ , it's good to see you in good health,” Jongho said. He smiled at Seonghwa, eyes scrunching up. It reminded Seonghwa so much of the child Jongho had been all those many years ago, skinny and bright faced. There was not much left of the child excited for its first season. Jongho was a seasoned herder now, almost twenty years old. He grew up nicely, with a still soft face and a healthy body. Seonghwa was sure there were girls (and a guy or two) fawning over Jongho every time he came home to Nampo after spending his summers in Yangdong. The air and the sun up here brought out the best in people and left them glowing.

“It's good to see you in one piece,” Seonghwa answered, and he meant it. He had seen his fair share of broken bodies at the bottom of a ravine, and he had no desire to find Jongho in one. He preferred Jongho snoring on the other side of the hay loft, as much as he complained about it.

“Of course, _hyung_ ,” Jongho said and handed Seonghwa two letters. He must've visited Seonghwa's parents shortly before coming to Yangdong. Seonghwa's mother liked Jongho, so did Yeosang, her apprentice. More than once, Seonghwa's mother had told him how it saddened her that Jongho hadn't been born into their coven. Seonghwa wasn't particularly sad, because he didn't want to imagine what kind of power Jongho would wield if he had been a witch. And even as a regular human, Jongho spent enough time in Seonghwa's presence to pick up on a lot of things that Seonghwa probably should keep secret.

“Thank you, Jongho.”

Jongho shrugged and made his way back outdoors.

  
  


Yangdong wasn't really a village, if Seonghwa was being honest. Winter-Seonghwa would've said it absolutely wasn't, because Winter-Seonghwa lived in Gwachon surrounded by coal smoke and people. Summer-Seonghwa, who lived in Yangdong from May to November, three and a half of these months completely alone, would say absolutely.

“Hwa, here you are! Have you been lonely without me?” Hongjoong yelled from where he and a few other young men tried to herd a bunch of goats into their overnight enclosure. Not that they were particularly victorious, because goats did whatever they wanted. Seonghwa didn't recognize the two other kids. It was nothing too unusual, even when he made a point knowing everyone in Yangdong. Sometimes, they had foreign guest workers here. Sometimes distant relatives sent their children here in hopes of getting them to behave better. He would introduce himself to them later. What was unusual was the piece of black fabric wrapped around the upper arms of both young men. Seonghwa could tell from a mile away that it was a state-issued arm band to identify witch apprentices. It reminded him to put on his own again, now that he was surrounded by people. Even if they all knew him, they could still report him. Maybe the boy was here to collect some herbs for his mentor.

“I already miss the quiet I had yesterday,” Seonghwa shot back, smiling.

Silence was rare during the few short months that marked the alpine summer. Living space was scarce in Yangdong, and many shepherd's shared their living quarters with each other. Seonghwa's cottage was not the biggest one in Yangdong, originally built for his grandmother and her apprentice. Seonghwa didn't mind sharing the hay loft with both Hongjoong and Jongho. They were friends after all, and Seonghwa didn't have any livestock that would need hay anyway. Jongho and Hongjoong were out for ten hours or more a day anyway, so it didn't feel as crowded as it could.

There was no silence in Yangdong in summer, not even in the middle of the night. It came with the livestock, all of which slept only four to five hours a night. The goats were especially active, which made Seonghwa the shepherd's favourite person. He didn't perfect his calming potion for nothing, after all.

Said potions needed to be brewed in the moonlight, so Seonghwa did get the most out of Yangdong's summer silence. Hongjoong tagged along sometimes, when his cattle had been especially peaceful during day. Seonghwa liked their late night chats spent on either side of his cauldron. Hongjoong was a smart man that had a special way with words. Had he the opportunity to study, Seonghwa was sure Hongjoong would've been a very good politician.

“You know, you should be careful if you're going out at night,” Hongjoong said, looking down into the valley. “My boyfriend told me there's a bear roaming these parts of the mountain.”

Seonghwa looked at Hongjoong. Hongjoong didn't look back at him. He hadn't known Hongjoong was in a relationship. Unlike Jongho, Seonghwa and Hongjoong didn't really see each other during winter, and only ever were close to each other during summer. He would have to do something about that.

“Maybe you remember him. His name's Song Mingi. He herded goats for the Jeong family back in the day when he was a child. He and his best friend were here every summer.”

Seonghwa did remember Mingi. A tall and gangly kid that ran up and down the grassy slopes like a goat himself. Jongho and Mingi had been close in their earlier seasons, if Seonghwa remembered correctly, until... Seonghwa wasn't sure what happened, but after his third year, Jongho had started to tag along wherever Seonghwa went.

“His best friend was eaten by a bear when they were ten or something like that. And since then, Mingi has refused to even look at the mountain. He says he's fine, but I know he didn't want me to come here this year. I- I didn't want to come here, because I know how scared he is that I won't come home, but we need the money... He's... I really like him, Hwa.”

Seonghwa nodded thoughtfully. He didn't remember much of that day, aside of his mother being terribly scared and immediately leaving Yangdong with Seonghwa. He had not been allowed to return to Yangdong the next summer, marking the only year he hadn't spent here since he had been six or seven years old. Spending the summer in Gwachon had been horrible in Seonghwa's opinion, even when faced with the prospects of Kang Yeosang, the apprentice his mother took in the following fall.

Before he could say something, a young woman shuffled towards the two of them, wearing only a light nightgown with a thin shawl thrown over her shoulders. Hongjoong averted his eyes.

“I'm sorry to disturb you,” the woman apologized. Seonghwa smiled at her. He forgot why she was here in Yangdong exactly, but her name was Minyoung.

“Seonghwa- _oppa_ , do you maybe have a potion against pain?” she asked shyly.

“Of course. What kind of pain is it? Maybe a salve could help too?” he stood up. The woman didn't look hurt, but the pain was evident in her voice and expression.

She shuffled around again, looking down at her feet, then glancing at Hongjoong nervously.

“It's... uh... a private matter,” she whispered as if she needed to be ashamed. Seonghwa knew what kind of pain she meant anyway.

“Of course, I'm sorry. Come on in, I'll get you settled with something that helps against the cramps. Is there anything else you'd like something for?”

He guided Minyoung into his cottage, signalling for Hongjoong that he'll be back shortly. Luckily, Jongho slept like a stone.

  
  


When Seonghwa returned to Hongjoong and wished the Minyoung a good rest, he offered Hongjoong a stack of fire papers. Hongjoong took them and looked questioningly at Seonghwa, as if he didn't know what he was supposed to do with them.

Seonghwa stirred the potion and nodded towards the papers.

“It's fire papers. Write what you want on one side and the recipient on the other. It'll reach its destination only seconds after you burn it. So you can tell Mingi that you're safe.”

He demonstrated it with a letter addressed to Yeosang that read “I hope you're not planning to stir up trouble”.

Hongjoong stared at him for a moment. Seonghwa could see the tears swim in Hongjoong's eyes.

“Thank you, Seonghwa. Thank you so much.”

Seonghwa shrugged.

  
  


A minute later, Yeosang's answer flickered into existence.

_Hyung, are you sure you're not a diviner?_


	5. Chapter 5

Yunho was delighted. San was visiting him, along with a friend Yunho didn't recognize. His name was Wooyoung, and he was very cute, even when he had seemed worried about approaching Yunho at first. Yunho didn't judge him for it. He looked scary, it was understandable.

San on the other hand was over the moon. He screamed out of happiness and jumped at Yunho to hug him. San's arms were thinner around his neck than they had been the year before. Yunho assumed the winter down in the valley had been as harsh as it had been in the mountains. Last year wasn't as plentiful as everyone had hoped, and maybe that was the reason San had lost so much weight. Yunho would make sure both of his guests had plenty to eat while they were up here.

Wooyoung carefully approached Yunho, who still had San wrapped around his neck like an oversized necklace. San let go of him and grasped Wooyoung's hands, telling him something. Yunho didn't quite hear what it was. In his defence, a marmot whistle pierced through the air, followed by some children laughing.

When he focused back on his two friends, Wooyoung seemed to be less worried and looked up at him with a determined glance in his eyes.

  
  


It didn't quite register what happened to Yunho, but only seconds later, he had Wooyoung's arms slung around his shoulders and Wooyoung's body dangling from his back. Yunho wiggled a bit, and Wooyoung squealed in delight. His legs locked around Yunho for better support.

Yunho spun around, almost flinging Wooyoung off his back. San said something Yunho didn't catch over Wooyoung's screech. He spun again. And again.

Wooyoung laughed into his ear, sounding a bit like the scream of an eagle. His arms tightened around Yunho's neck, but it didn't hurt yet. He spun around again before stilling and letting Wooyoung rest.

San laughed loudly when Wooyoung had trouble walking a straight line. He looked happy when he grabbed Wooyoung's arm to steady him.

Yunho pressed his nose into San's neck and blew out air onto his friend's skin. San squealed too, shimmying out of Yunho's reach. Yunho was happy too.


	6. Songbirds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the one where Seonghwa talks to birds and meets a bear.
> 
> #TW: There's some violence in this chapter, if you're sensitive to that, you'd better skip it.

Summer progressed as fast as spring had. It didn't seem fair to Seonghwa that winter reigned over Yangdong for so many months and summer only lasted for three.

Hongjoong said that three months were more than enough, but contrary to Hongjoong, Seonghwa actually liked being up here. It felt like home to him.

“Maybe if you got yourself a boyfriend, you would prefer the valley too,” Jongho suggested. He peered over Seonghwa's shoulder as the older tried to incorporate goat milk (happily provided by Jongho's favourite goat Milkshake) into a fertility potion. It wasn't going well, the milk turned sour as soon as he poured it into the blessed water. Seonghwa frowned, but didn't say anything. He hated working with goat milk. It never worked as it was supposed to and didn't smell that great either.

For a shepherd's kid with no inkling for magic, Jongho did show big interest in it. Seonghwa wasn't entirely sure if it was because Jongho was genuinely curious about how magic worked, or if his crush on Yeosang was the reason. Not that Seonghwa particularly cared, and he knew from Yeosang himself that he harboured a crush on Jongho in return, he was just curious.

“Who would save your ass if you fall down a hill, if I stayed in Gwachon, huh?”

Jongho made an offended sound. He had never, in fact, fallen down any kind of hill or slope. No one in Yangdong was more confident in their steps than him, including some of the actual livestock. Maybe he had been a mountain goat in a previous life. Maybe it was because every piece of clothing Jongho wore had once been patched up by Seonghwa, who had worked protective sigils into his seams.

“I'd have to make Yeosang-ie come up here every year, and he's basically allergic to the outdoors. You know how he is.”

He decided to let Milkshake's goat milk be for the time being and go venture around a bit. He could walk east and explore the woods a bit, maybe check out if he could find some wig knapweed. Jongho knew how he organized his potions cabinet and would be able to handle most requests.

  
  


“Apparently, I am the only one that's up here because they want to be,” Seonghwa said, as if the bird he was talking to actually understood him. It blinked at him like it did, at least.

“It's not even like it's because I don't have a reason to stay in Gwachon, I do. My _eomma_ would love it if I took over her remedies shop. But it's just... I like being here. I feel free. I feel at home, you know? I never feel like this in Gwachon.”

The bird chirped like it completely agreed.

„Yeah, you guys get it.”

Seonghwa was used to be completely alone when he wandered the mountain and its woods, so he didn't pay much attention to what was bumbling around the woods. He had never encountered any predators in all his years and there were no poisonous snakes either.

He didn't see his attacker until he was grabbed by the collar and punched square in the face. It was a powerful punch and left Seonghwa's ears ringing. His eyes had a bit of trouble focusing on the man that had hit him. Sangmin was still gripping Seonghwa's collar like he wanted to drag Seonghwa to a ravine and drop him there.

“Leave my fucking fiancé alone, you witch!” He said it like it was a bad thing. Not like Seonghwa was giving his fiancé soothing ointments for her cramps every month, basically free of charge.

Sangmin headbutted him and dropped Seonghwa on the ground. He could feel the blood pouring out of his nose. It hurt like a bitch, and Seonghwa would need to make sure to have Jongho check if it was broken later. He tried to blink away the piercing pain in between his eyes and pushed himself up to his elbows.

Before he could form a coherent thought, Sangmin stumbled back. He didn't look at Seonghwa, obviously not worried about him being any kind of danger. Seonghwa's eyes began crossing, but refocused on Sangmin's face of terror when two giant paws came down to earth on either side of his shoulders. Seonghwa dropped back flat on the ground, hitting the back of his head on a flat rock.

By the Goddesses, he was about to die.

A bear stood above him, focused on Sangmin. Seonghwa couldn't take his eyes off the bear's chest over him and prayed to Ae-Ra, the Goddess of Mercy. The bear huffed once and roared at Sangmin. The sound of it rattled Seonghwa down to the bones, and he intensified his prayers.

Please, Goddess Ae-Ra, make it a painless death.

Please, Goddess Ae-Ra, make it forget about the existence of Yangdong and protect Jongho.

Please, Goddess Ae-Ra, keep Hongjoong and his cattle safe.

Please, Goddess Ae-Ra, please.

  
  


Seonghwa was pretty sure that the Goddess had answered his prayers, because after a few moments, the bear took a step back and sat down. Seonghwa kept trying to focus on the bear's upside down features, but there was no hint of aggression visible.

Slowly, Seonghwa turned around, head pounding. His vision swam only a little when he sat up. When the bear didn't make a move to attack Seonghwa, he stood up. The bear was big, bigger than any bear Seonghwa had read about. They were eye-level to one another, and Seonghwa wasn't a particularly small person. Its breath was hot and moist on Seonghwa's face and surprisingly didn't smell of rotting meat and blood like he had anticipated. The bear cocked its head to one side and looked at him like it was evaluating Seonghwa's injuries. Then, it clicked its tongue and pressed its wet snout against Seonghwa's cheek and sauntered off into the woods.

Seonghwa was too stunned by the encounter to move for an eternity, just staring between the trees, trying to figure out if he had actually died and this was his afterlife. His head hurt too much for him to be dead.

After what felt like at least fifteen minutes, Seonghwa shrugged and gathered his empty basket and went home.

  
  


He was surprised by the gathering of shepherds in Yangdong when he arrived. Most of them were armed with rifles and Seonghwa assumed the worst. Sangmin was relaying the tale of how a bear had attacked him and actually downright screeched when he saw Seonghwa approaching the group.

“How are you still alive?” he yelled and Seonghwa winced.

“Well, no thanks to you, Sangmin- _ssi_ ,” he said politely, wiping at his bloodied nose. Minyoung clapped her hands on her mouth and Jongho jogged up to Seonghwa to check on his injuries.

“I'm going to kick him down a fissure,” Jongho hissed, but Seonghwa waved his friend's threat away.

“I'm going to be the one that has to climb down the fissure, Jongho, and I don't think I'm in shape for climbing right now.”

“All that abjuring magic, but you only ever use it to protect others over yourself.” Jongho shook his head.

“ _Oppa_ , was there really a bear?” Minyoung asked with wide eyes.

Seonghwa looked directly into Sangmin's eyes and shook his head.

“No. There wasn't. There's no bear on this mountain, I would know.”

Jongho guided Seonghwa into their shared cottage, as if the older was breakable. Seonghwa didn't say anything about it, but he let Jongho set his nose and handle the matter of dinner, while Seonghwa nursed a potion to ease the swelling. He really needed to do something about the horrid taste.


	7. Chapter 7

Yunho could tell San and Wooyoung had left when he got back. The silence they had left behind felt empty. There was no purpose in him staying home when both his friends had left the mountain already.

He didn't quite understand. San didn't like the cold, never had, but it was still warm. It was still summer. With every step Yunho took, the insects chirped. The bells of the cattle still resounded all day long. It made no sense for San and Wooyoung to leave this early, but there was no purpose in crying over spilt milk either, Yunho supposed.

Yunho wandered to a shady spot between two rock needles to watch the goats climb the mountain walls. Their keeper yelled at them to come down, seemingly only spurring the goats on. He wrinkled his nose. As much as he liked watching goats, he did not like their smell. He was glad he didn't have to spend his winters crammed in with goats just to not freeze to death. Even if he was lonely up here, he did prefer the smell of snow and ice over any single goat.

The crag martins that lived in the rock walls zipped past Yunho, wings almost touching the flower heads beneath. A storm was brewing farther south. He could see the clouds piling up there, still stuck at the south-eastern mountain range, but it would come.

And when it got here, Yunho hoped all the shepherds were safely inside by then. Getting struck by lightning up here wasn't as hard to accomplish as it was in the valley.


	8. Fall

“You better take good care of yourself, Hwa. I don't want Jongho to find your dead body on the bottom of a ravine when he comes to get you in a month,” Hongjoong said in a threatening voice. Seonghwa didn't feel very threatened, but he didn't tell Hongjoong that. At least Hongjoong cared enough to try and threaten Seonghwa over his well-being.

“Hongjoong, I've done this every year since I was twelve years old. Have I ever been injured when I was on my own?”

Hongjoong grumbled, but let Seonghwa help him pack his things anyway.

The summer had been as dry and hot as the omens had promised, with only a few days of rain and just one big thunderstorm disturbing the peace and Seonghwa's roof. Again. But everything came to an end, even the warmest summers. Most of the shepherds had already taken their leave, after boarding up their cottages for winter. Jongho and his goats, and a whole lot of Seonghwa's potion Jongho was going to deliver to Seonghwa's mother, had already left the day before, and Hongjoong would leave in the next few days too. Then it would be only Seonghwa again.

“Hwa, I get why you're travelling here before the rest of us. Herbs and flowers and stuff. But it's October now, and you told Jongho to come up again in late November! November is a dangerous time up here, you know that! What if Jongho gets hurt?”

Seonghwa wasn't entirely sure how he felt about Hongjoong being more worried about Jongho getting hurt than Seonghwa. Was it just because Hongjoong knew Seonghwa was a witch brought up with the art of protection, or was there another reason? Maybe he was just being paranoid.

“Hongjoong, Jongho has as many protective talismans sewed into his clothes and his backpack as I could possibly fit. It's almost impossible for him to get hurt on these mountains,” Seonghwa explained.

“You bewitched Jongho without him knowing?!”

Seonghwa furrowed his brows. He hadn't said anything about Jongho's knowledge of the situation, but he figured there was no use in lying to Hongjoong.

“If I ask he's going to say no. You know that.”

“It's illegal to use magic on people that are not consenting!”

“I'm making sure he's safe. And I'm not using magic on him, either. The magic influences his surroundings. Stone that should give out under his feet doesn't, things like that. Stones can't give consent.” Seonghwa started fiddling with the leather straps on Hongjoong's backpack. He could already hear the upcoming question piece itself together in Hongjoong's brain, and he did not like it. He felt tendrils of fear wrap around his heart and squeeze. Seonghwa's answer could result in his death sentence if Hongjoong decided to report him.

“Did you do it to someone else? Did you... do that to me?”

“What difference does it make anyway.”

“Seonghwa, I seriously hope you're not insinuating what I think you are. Please tell me you didn't do your magic on me.”

Seonghwa didn't dare look at his friend, just kept smoothing over the leather with his hands.

“Mother told me how your kind was, but I'd never thought you would betray us like this!” he hissed and Seonghwa snapped. His head flew up and he levelled Hongjoong with a cold stare. They were friends, had been ever since they met. Or Seonghwa had assumed they had been. Was he in the wrong to protect Hongjoong and Jongho, who were like brothers to him? Was he in the wrong to make sure Hongjoong returned to Mingi safe? Was he really?

“What do you want me to say, Hongjoong? That I worry about you and Jongho? That I want you guys to be safe? Because I do! If I could, I would teleport you from here to your front door, but I can't! So I do what I can, and that are pendants and talismans and sigils! Do you want me to be sorry for looking out for you? Because I am not! I never will be! Because if I didn't do this, and something would happen to you, I could never forgive myself!”

Hongjoong was quiet for a second, before letting out an inarticulate scream of anger, grabbing his backpack out of Seonghwa's hands and storming out of the cottage. He threw the door shut behind himself. Seonghwa could hear Hongjoong's angry yell at his sheep to get their asses moving, even through the fear ringing in his ears.

If Seonghwa had to press the palms of his hands into his eye sockets to avoid crying, no one was around to see.


	9. Chapter 9

It was getting colder, Yunho noticed. Not really cold yet, but early in the morning, the breeze stung with cold. He was hungry.

He was always hungry these days

A black bird cawed from its perch in the trees. Yunho had tried his best to shoo it away, first because he didn't like it, and later to keep himself occupied. The marmots had already gone to sleep.

The village was abandoned these days, safe for one cottage. At least, Yunho assumed someone still lived there. He never saw who it was, but there was smoke curling from the chimney all times of the day.

The bird flew closer, perched on a roof gutter. Yunho paid it no mind, focused on the smell of cold meat he had picked up. It hung dried in a locked chimney on the backside of a cottage. It smelled like smoke, but Yunho wasn't a picky eater.

The black bird swooped down to steal one strip of meat right from under Yunho's nose before it flew off into the blue sky.

Yunho snorted, but continued eating.


	10. By the Fire at Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the one where Jongho surprises Seonghwa

Seonghwa almost screamed when the door to his cottage flew open. For weeks, he had waited for the Special Forces Against Magical Abuse to come and jail him, but they never had. He hadn't been prepared to find Jongho standing in his door frame, brushing snowflakes off his shoulders. Seonghwa blinked at the younger, taken aback.

“Jongho,” he said instead of a greeting. “I honestly didn't expect you.”

Jongho shrugged and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. It instantly grew warmer in the cabin. There was still a draught making the fire flicker. Seonghwa hadn't yet been able to figure out where it came from, but his money was on the badly repaired roof. He needed to have a carpenter fix it next spring.

“ _Hyung_ told me what you've been doing with my stuff,” Jongho said, shrugging off his winter coat. He patted it down and hung it next to the door. He stepped through the living space to warm his hands on the flickering fire.

“If you're expecting an apology, you're not gonna get one,” Seonghwa answered and stirred the stew they would have for dinner. It was the last meal he cooked in Yangdong for the year, and he had thrown in all leftovers he could find. It was bound to taste interesting.

“I would've preferred to hear it from you instead of _hyung_.”

Jongho looked like he always did, even if he was a bit red-faced from the cold. Seonghwa couldn't tell if Jongho was upset or not, the younger's face schooled in a neutral expression. He let it be, opting for serving their dinner instead.

  
  


November had been colder this year than Seonghwa had anticipated, so he and Jongho slept in front of the fireplace like they had the first night in spring. Jongho wasn't particularly excited to be nestled between Seonghwa and the fire, but there was nothing Seonghwa could do about his friend's dislike for touch. He would have to get over it.

  
  


“Is he still angry with me?” Seonghwa asked, long after the fire had died down to embers.

Jongho didn't say anything and Seonghwa assumed the younger was long asleep. He probably should be too. The way from Yangdong to Gampo was dangerous if it continued snowing. He would need all the energy he could get.

“He's mostly disappointed, I think,” Jongho told him after a good five minutes of complete silence. “I mean, I get why he is. You two are close friends, have been for forever, but”

“I've known Hongjoong's boyfriend longer than I've known Hongjoong,” Seonghwa protested, aiming his elbow at Jongho's ribcage. Jongho giggled in response, scooting farther away from Seonghwa, swatting blindly at him.

“BUT who was he kidding, he knew you were meddling with our luck, even if he wasn't acutely aware of it. There's just no way that I can do the things I do without your magic. I have jumped into five fissures to get lambs out this season without as much as twisting my ankle. It just isn't possible.”

Seonghwa could see Jongho nod in the dark like he always did when he was satisfied with his own words, before the younger pushed himself up to feed the fire again.

He assumed he should've been glad that Jongho forgave him, and some off the worry lifted from his shoulders, but his mind zeroed in on another part of Jongho's speech. He paled at the thought of Jongho willingly putting himself in danger, even if he knew, or assumed, that Seonghwa's magic was protecting him.

“You did what?!”

In the light of the rekindled fire, he could see Jongho smile, and then laugh. His face returned to seriousness when he put the grate back in its place.

“But _hyung_. Never do this again without telling me. Promise me.”

If Seonghwa was completely honest, he couldn't do that. He would always do everything in his power to keep Jongho safe, and he didn't know what kinds of spells that would need in the future. He told Jongho so, because after all, Jongho deserved the truth, even if it was only for tonight.

“No, _hyung_ , I didn't mean for you to not do your magic. I just want you to tell me when you do, so no one can say you did it without my consent.”

Seonghwa's heart felt light with the amount of trust Jongho put into him. Yeosang was a lucky person, being treasured by Jongho.

They were quiet for a while, making themselves comfortable again.

  
  


“Jongho, I hope you're aware that I am going to slip-proof your boots before we leave tomorrow.”


	11. Chapter 11

The summer had ended at last.

The village was completely abandoned when Yunho ventured through its muddy paths. The lone witch who had held down the fort himself had finally fled the village too. The witches from the valley weren't built for the merciless winter of the mountain. Even when that witch had endured it far longer than Yunho's own witchy friends.

It became dark earlier every day, and Yunho knew that at some point, the mountain would be cast in light for only a few short hours a day.

He stretched his body out.

It smelled like snow was on its way to claim its throne.


	12. Transmutation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeosang is here, and so are Woosan. Obviously, they're bringing trouble with them. Seonghwa is tired.

The shop was mostly empty at this time of the day. Seonghwa would have liked to return to his research on the effects meadow saffron had on revitalizing spells, but he had to keep an eye on his mother's apprentice. Yeosang wasn't a young boy anymore, or inexperienced in any form, but Seonghwa's mother didn't want him to manage the shop on his own just yet. Seonghwa didn't understand it, because Yeosang was a bright witch and could've passed his final exams years ago. But every time he asked his mother to just let Yeosang finish his apprenticeship and name him her eventual successor, she wouldn't. If it was because she waited for Seonghwa's older brother to finally come home from his studies with the evokers at the seaside, or if she didn't want to give away her highly-esteemed shop to someone not related to her, Seonghwa couldn't guess either. Yeosang had lived with them since he had been ten years old, and was as much a brother to Seonghwa as his older brother was.

Seonghwa peered over Yeosang's shoulder, watching as the younger painstakingly measured the ingredients for a sigil ink. Yeosang was more diligent than most witches Seonghwa had met in his life.

“I know what I'm doing,” Yeosang said into the quiet of the shop, startling Seonghwa from his thoughts. He tried to be nonchalant about it, even when Yeosang didn't lift his eyes from his ground donkey hoof.

“I know that, Yeosang-ie.”

“Then stop staring at my back, _hyung_.” Yeosang looked up, finding Seonghwa's gaze.

“Well, there's nothing else to stare at, Yeosang-ie. And I'm bored.” It had been only a few weeks since Seonghwa had returned to Gwachon and the restlessness and the feeling of being caged hadn't quite disappeared yet. He was already giddy to leave for Yangdong again.

“Go stare at your naked ladies or something, _hyung_ , by the Goddesses.”

Seonghwa spluttered and was about to protest (and beg Yeosang to please not call meadow saffron “naked ladies” ever again) when the small bell above the door announced costumers. Seonghwa shot Yeosang a sharp look to keep the boy from snickering before he busied himself with rearranging a few vials on a shelf. If Yeosang thought he could bully Seonghwa, Seonghwa'd make him interact with people.

“Welcome to _Youngsook's Herbal and Magical Remedies for your Everyday Life_. How may I help you,” Yeosang said in a monotone voice.

Two young men around their age approached the counter. They looked vaguely familiar to Seonghwa, but he couldn't pinpoint where he knew them from. Both of them wore the arm bands of apprenticeship, like Yeosang did. Both were from a conjurer coven, most likely the same one. What did conjurers want from them?

“Hi, we're searching for Park Seonghwa, do you know him?” the taller one asked with a confident smile.

Yeosang didn't even glance in Seonghwa's direction when he said “My name is Kang Yeosang. I'm Park Youngsook- _nim'_ s apprentice. Maybe I can help you with whatever problem you are experiencing?”

“We... We have a very specific problem and we've been told that Seonghwa- _nim_ might be able to help us,” the one with the angular face offered.

“I am Park Seonghwa,” Seonghwa said when he appeared from behind his shelf of potions, startling both boys. Yeosang withdrew himself from the situation, returning to his ink.

Both men looked at him with surprise.

“How can I help you?”

“Sorry, from what we heard we thought you were older! My name's Jung Wooyoung, and this is Choi San. We've been told you may know how to undo a spell. It's a transmutation spell”

Seonghwa frowned. Most covens were very strict in what they taught their apprentices, and none of them liked to breach into other schools of magic. Should they know anything about Seonghwa, every piece of conversation held in front of Yeosang could become dangerous.

“We've... I put a spell on my friend and I can't undo it,” San said and Seonghwa sighed deeply. “We've been told that you might be able to help.”

“Yeosang-ie, please look after the shop for a while.”

Seonghwa didn't wait for an answer before leading the two conjurer apprentices into the small kitchenette at the back of the shop.

  
  


“You're apprentices,” Seonghwa said, closing the curtain separating the shop and the kitchenette. “You should know not put a spell you don't understand on any person.”

“That's why we came to find you, hyung. We've been told that you mastered spells from all of the schools.” Seonghwa frowned. Who knew of his studies, and who would tell these two conjurers?

“I don't know who told you that, but they lied to you. Cross-schooled witches are subject to registration.”

“ _Hyung_ , everyone knows you only get registered if you get caught,” San said with an eyebrow wiggle, as if he knew that Seonghwa was lying. He couldn't know. Nobody outside of the Park branch of their coven knew about Seonghwa's interests.

Yeosang's head popped up from behind the curtain.

“ _Hyung_ , I think I messed something up again.”

Seonghwa was thankful for his younger brother, especially considering how Yeosang likely had messed up on purpose, just to get Seonghwa out of this situation.

“Of course, Yeosang-ie, just a second,” Seonghwa answered, before looking at the two visitors. “Now, if you'd please leave.”

“ _Hyung_ , please!” San begged. “He's been a bear for so long, I don't know if we even can turn him back at all! And if we can, we don't have much time left!”

  
  


Seonghwa had already been on his way to join Yeosang in the shopfront, when he spun around.

“He's been a what?” he asked. He must've misheard.

“We... I changed him into a bear,” San admitted, lowering his eyes. Wooyoung stared at Seonghwa like he was willing him to help them. Problem was, Wooyoung was not an enchanter, and Seonghwa wore three bracelets that protected him from enchanting anyway.

“You turned someone into a bear,” Seonghwa repeated slowly. This apprentice before him, not even a full-fledged witch, a conjurer at that, had turned a human being into a bear. And apparently, didn't think to find an abjurer to fix the situation for years. Because that was how long it took for transmutated people to loose their humanity. Literal years.

“You turned your friend into a bear, and it never occurred to you that spellbreakers could maybe fix it?”

San's head turned dangerously red, and Wooyoung's ears glowed pink.

Seonghwa sighed and sunk into a chair, before fixing his eyes on San.

“You're going to tell me what exactly happened, when it did, where you did your stunt, and then you're going home and will never again mess with this kind of magic ever again.”


	13. Chapter 13

Winter was slowly dying. It got warmer again. The sun rose earlier and set later.

Sometimes, Yunho could hear the birds sing in the trees.

He stretched. His joints popped.

God, he was hungry.


	14. Noise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jongho keeps being insane, Woosan keep bothering Seonghwa.

Of course, it was Seonghwa's luck to be snowed in in Yangdong. He should've guessed it when he had hurriedly prepared his belongings and left Yeosang in charge of the shop that the mountain wouldn't be exactly habitable. He had been in Yangdong for a few days now, most of it huddled near the fireplace, planning his approach to the whole situation. Bears hibernated, but he didn't know if human-turned-bears did too. Even if they did, according to the archives, hibernation in these mountains ended around late March or early April. He was right on time, technically, if it wasn't for the snow.

When the door to his cottage was opened, Seonghwa understandably startled. He hadn't even known that the snow was melted enough for people to actually get to Yangdong. When he caught a glimpse of Jongho's face behind his scarf, he wasn't so sure anymore. Jongho was an insane man. If he wanted to, he could travel to Yangdong in a snow storm, Seonghwa was sure. Behind him were two other figures wrapped in layers and layers of cloth.

“ _Hyung_ , here you are!” Jongho announced, closing the door behind them, as if his appearance on this snowy day had been planned.

“Yeosangie- _hyung_ sent me a fire paper that you had thought it was a good idea to come to Yangdong when it's not even April yet,” Jongho said as an explanation. “I would've come earlier, but the weather didn't play along. Found these two on my way up today.”

Apparently, the secrecy and myth generations of witches had cultivated meant nothing to Yeosang, who had immediately ratted Seonghwa out to Jongho. Seonghwa wasn't even that mad at his younger brother. Good relationships needed trust, and these two obviously had it to spare. After all, Jongho stood right in front of him. After only hearing Yeosang's assurance that Seonghwa was up here, and with no proof.

“Hi again, _hyung_ ,” one of the clothing stacks said, and when Seonghwa recognized them, he was ready to throw them out in the snow. San and Wooyoung apparently thought Seonghwa had been joking when he told them to get back to their coven and never even think about doing any kind of spell on his mountain again. He squinted at them, as if they were an illusion and he could just blink them away.

They didn't disappear unfortunately, and Seonghwa assumed he wouldn't get rid of them for at least a few weeks, so he sighed and got up to make tea. Jongho moved around the cottage like it was home to him as much as it was to Seonghwa, putting away his supplies and shaking out his winter coat. San and Wooyoung on the other hand fiddled uncomfortably near the door.

“Warm yourselves up and then you better have a good explanation of why you thought I was joking.”

“ _Hyung_ , let them catch their breath first,” Jongho yelled from where he had ventured up to the hay loft. The roof had started to leak again, so Seonghwa had slept in front of the fireplace since he had gotten here. They would have trouble fitting all of them on the limited amount of sleeping mats Seonghwa owned. Wooyoung and San could take Hongjoong's for the time being, he assumed.

“This is my home, I am allowed to question them as much as I like” Seonghwa answered with no real mirth. Part of him was glad he wasn't facing this on his own.

“I'm sorry to burden you with this, _hyung_ , but I don't know who else could help us,” San tried. Seonghwa thought the apology was aimed at the wrong person, but he didn't tell San, who was obviously upset.

“Why did you even think it was a good idea to turn your friend into a bear in the first place?” Jongho asked as he jumped down from the hay loft instead of using the ladder.

“I borrowed a book from a transmuter that stayed with my coven for a short period of time, and we thought it would be a funny prank,” San answered. “It was, until I couldn't turn him back.”

“You're an abjurer, you're the one that's supposed to undo spells, it's in your job description,” Wooyoung threw in, pointing at Seonghwa.

“Stop being so rude,” Jongho said with narrowed eyes. “You're the ones that need _hyung_ 's help”

Wooyoung turned to Jongho, looking offended.

“I am older than you, show some respect!”

“Excuse me for not respecting someone who thought turning their friend into a bear was a good idea. Or his dumbass friend who went along with it!”

Wooyoung spluttered, but before he could do anything (like throwing something at Jongho, who would and could break Wooyoung in half), Seonghwa poured their tea and nudged Jongho to sit down.

“I don't want to hear anything anymore. From neither of you. Jongho, like it or not, they're our guests for now. Wooyoung, you might be older, but remember that Jongho's the one that knows how life on the mountain works. San...” San looked at him hopefully, like he waited for Seonghwa to absolve him. That wasn't going to happen anytime soon, but he didn't need to make him feel more guilty. “I hope you won't mess with other schools again. At least not without proper introduction. If you are able to stay in Yangdong for a while, I will teach you how to break your own spells.”

It obviously wasn't what San had hoped to hear, but he nodded eagerly anyway.

  
  


The problem was that Seonghwa was used to handle abjuration on his own. But neither of his house guests let him do so in peace. When he prepared his things to search for the bear after most of the snow had melted, San appeared almost out of thin air. He had listened to every direction Seonghwa had given in the art of abjuring, even when he wasn't particularly gifted. But he didn't listen to Seonghwa when he told San there was no fucking way of San going anywhere near what they had to assume was an actual bear that came fresh out of hibernation.

“ _Hyung_ , I did this, it's my responsibility to own up to,” he tried.

“San, you came to me to break a spell you did. I am the one that's owning up to your responsibilities.”

Nothing worked. San was adamant about following Seonghwa, and Wooyoung was adamant about following San wherever he went, even when he himself technically wasn't even involved. He hadn't known the friend San had turned, as he had joined the coven only a few years ago, after his coven had been incorporated into San's. Seonghwa assumed it was safer to have them accompany him in sight than have them sneak after him through woods they weren't familiar with, so he let them tag along.

He didn't stand a chance against Jongho either. The morning they were to leave, Jongho grabbed his rifle, and when he caught Seonghwa looking at him, said “There's no fucking way I'm letting you anywhere near a bear without proper measurements.”

Jongho was the only resident of Yangdong that possessed any common sense, it seemed. Seonghwa just hoped Jongho wouldn't shoot the bear until they were completely sure there was no human trace left.

The even bigger problem posed the mountain itself. San and Wooyoung had no idea how to behave themselves out here. They stumbled over every single tree root and stone they could find, slipped more times than Seonghwa cared to count and made enough noise to make every breathing thing in a five mile radius aware of their presence. Seonghwa was sure they could even be heard down in the valley.

Seonghwa heaved a deep sigh. Hopefully, they'd find the bear before Jongho decided to repurpose his rifle. Both Jongho and Seonghwa were mountain dwellers, had been all their lives, and they weren't used to the mountain being so noisy.

  
  


Seonghwa really needed to be more aware of his surroundings, he decided, after he got surprised by a bear for the second time. One of these days, his obliviousness would get him in trouble. This time, it wasn't the birds that distracted him, but his two very loud followers. He needed Jongho to tug at his sleeve to notice it. To his credit, both Wooyoung and San had missed the bear too.

The bear stood between the trees like it was made of wood itself, not moving an inch. It just watched them. For a moment, Seonghwa questioned if it had been frozen where it stood. When Jongho ushered San and Wooyoung behind him, the bear titled its head.

Seonghwa didn't watch Jongho prepare his rifle. The bear looked more curious than hungry with its head tilted like that, but reading the expression of bears had never been Seonghwa's strong suit.

This was it, Seonghwa thought. He started inching forward, carefully placing his feet, his body acting as a barrier between Jongho and the bear.

“Hi there. We've met before, haven't we.”

The bear cocked its head to the other side, but didn't show that it had inderstood Seonghwa's words otherwise.

Seonghwa took another half-step closer.

Everything after that happened too quickly and too slow at the same time.


	15. Chapter 15

Yunho was starving.


	16. Release

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit happens and San cries.

The bear charged forward, directly into Seonghwa.

The air was forced out of his lungs when he hit the frozen ground.

Someone screamed.

Jongho yelled, and Seonghwa could hear the click of the gun's safety.

The bear roared.

Seonghwa's head was empty when he reached up to grab at the bear's fur. Everything he had prepared to do, every incantation he had meant to say or sigil he had meant to paint had vanished into thin air.

He yanked.

  
  


After a second of resistance, the fur gave away, burying Seonghwa underneath it. Something crashed atop of him, but it wasn't heavy enough for a bear. Seonghwa hadn't heard a gunshot either. For a moment, everything was quiet, even the wind muffled by the fur covering him. It smelled like snow and dust.

Seonghwa tried to detangle himself from the fur and found himself staring at a young man's face. His cheeks weren't exactly hollow, but close,his brown eyes teary and surprised. He smelled like snow and dust too.

Somewhere behind Seonghwa, he could hear Jongho say “What the fuck?”. Seonghwa didn't look in Jongho's general direction as he answered with “Watch your language, Jongho”. The man's face was eerily familiar, like a memory of a dream.

The moment was broken by San positively screeching “Yunho!” and actually tackling him. Like a knee-jerk reaction, Seonghwa reached out and barely got a hold of the tails of San's cloak and jerked him back before he could actually hurt Yunho. Hypothermia was a very real risk right now, and Seonghwa wouldn't let Yunho freeze to death just because San thought he needed to hug him in the snow. San landed on his butt and burst into tears, but Seonghwa assumed it was more because he was overwhelmed and not because he was hurt.

Seonghwa felt snow slowly trickling down his neck as he stood up to help Yunho up. He shook out his feathered cloak and wrapped it around Yunho's naked shoulders, carefully closing the clasps at the front. Yunho looked at him with wide eyes, as if he wasn't entirely sure he was awake. Seonghwa caressed the man's cheek for a second, before he turned to San. San was still sitting on the ground, still in tears. He did give Seonghwa two of his three scarves without hesitation though, so Seonghwa left the boy to his emotions for a moment longer to tie one scarf around each foot of Yunho, so he wouldn't loose any toes while they were on their way back to Yangdong.

“I'm so sorry Yunho,” San wailed from where he was sitting, looking absolutely devastated. The tears froze on his cheeks, but San didn't seem to notice. Seonghwa threw Jongho a look who was currently instructing Wooyoung to take his rifle and get his ass back to Yangdong. He missed the rest of the explanation as he picked up the bear fur, shook the snow off it and wrapped it around Yunho's shoulders too. Yunho looked close to tears, hands too close to blue for Seonghwa's liking tangled within the raven feathers that made up Seonghwa's coat.

“I'm so sorry, I didn't want this to happen, you have to believe me!” San cried out again and he stumbled to get up. Seonghwa could hear Wooyoung stumble through the woods to do whatever Jongho had tasked him with.

“I'm so sorry.”

Seonghwa barely kept San from tackling Yunho a second time. They weren't going to hug it out in the middle of the woods. San's hands burrowed in Seonghwa's woolen jacket as he cried into the older's shoulder. Yunho glanced from San wrapped in Seonghwa's arms to Jongho, who was slowly approaching them.

“Hyung, I don't know if you remember me. I'm Jongho. You've been... missing for a while, but everything's okay now.”

Yunho blinked at Jongho like he had to really focus on him to understand his words, but he slowly nodded.

“You are... one of Mingi's friends,” Yunho then said, his first words in what Seonghwa assumed to have been almost a decade. Jongho smiled.

“Yes, I'm one of Mingi- _hyung_ 's friends. This is Seonghwa- _hyung_. He's the one that found you. Do you know Seonghwa- _hyung_?”

Jongho slowly came closer, as if he was still dealing with a wild animal. Seonghwa assumed it wasn't the dumbest approach. Even when his body was back to human, they didn't know for sure what ten years as a bear did to your head. Had Yunho been aware of what was going on? Had he recognized San? Or had time just frozen for his human brain and he was still only a ten year old boy mentally?

Yunho's eyes wandered over where Seonghwa tried to calm down San, who was almost hysterical at this point, because the cold had frozen his eyelids shut. Seonghwa let the younger bury his face against his throat as he shivered.

“You are the witch. You are the one that talks to birds” Yunho said and Seonghwa was relieved. Not really about Yunho bringing up his habit of talking to birds because Jongho would clown him for that once they got themselves indoors, but because it meant Yunho remembered.

Jongho wrapped his only scarf around San's eyes to keep the apprentice from further injury and slowly guided him through the woods by his hand, while Seonghwa supported Yunho's very wobbly steps on human legs too long still for his newly changed perception.

“I never could tell when you had arrived,” Yunho said at around the halfway point. Slowly, he got surer in where his legs actually ended, and he didn't have to concentrate as much. “One day, the mountain was empty, and the next you were there.”

“Should I wear a cow bell so you can hear me coming?” Seonghwa joked. He immediately bit his tongue. Maybe he shouldn't talk to Yunho like he wanted to return to the mountain. He had spent ten years here, most of it with no human contact. Seonghwa couldn't blame him if he didn't want to come here ever again. Maybe even Seonghwa, who loved this mountain like no one else he knew, would want some time away.

“You won't need one,” Yunho said, just as Seonghwa had assumed. And then, very unlike what Seonghwa had assumed, he continued “I will be coming here with you.”

  
  


Wooyoung greeted them with a wild wave when they reached Yangdong, before he took San's hand from Jongho to help him inside. Yunho's face flushed almost immediately after they entered the cottage and even the blue-ish hue his fingers had taken on vanished very quickly. San's eyes slowly thawed.

Jongho almost immediately busied himself with the big cauldron hanging over the open fire, adding strips of dried meat and some of Seonghwa's herbs he knew were actually meant for cooking and not for brewing, while Seonghwa handled Yunho to sit down on one of the chairs.

They hadn't exactly planned ahead (not even Seonghwa), and Seonghwa discovered that they had no clothes that fit Yunho just right. For now, he would have to get used to Seonghwa's clothes that were a bit too short on him until Seonghwa could get his hands on bigger ones. Maybe Hongjoong could bring up some of Mingi's clothes once he would come up here. Yunho looked about the same size as him.

San apologized again, this time hugging Yunho for real, for what felt like half an hour. He only let the taller go reluctantly, and only because Jongho announced the stew was ready. Yunho devoured seven bowls of the meat stew, as well as most of the bread they had in the house. Seonghwa would need to bake a new loaf later on. Yunho's hand lightly grazed Seonghwa's wrist, fingertips hot. He laid in front of the fire on Seonghwa's sleeping mat, eyes barely open.

“Thank you, _hyung_ ,” he whispered, voice heavy with sleep. He didn't even notice when Wooyoung and Jongho snuck out of the cottage and a cold draft swiped over them.

  
  


“For real,” San said, voice thick. Seonghwa could already tell how close he was to tears. “Thank you, _hyung_. Thank you so much.”

San did start to cry again when Seonghwa wrapped his arms around the younger. He could tell San was trying to be quiet, as not to disturb Yunho's sleep, but Yunho didn't even stir when they could hear Wooyoung and Jongho climb around the roof, securing more tarp over the hole they hadn't fixed yet.

Seonghwa pet San's hair until he fell asleep against his shoulders.


	17. Epilogue

It was cold when Yunho woke up.

He huffed. Wooyoung really needed to get the hang of how doors worked. Even Yunho knew you were supposed to close them once you were through, and he hadn't had the need for doors for almost ten years. He shuffled closer to Seonghwa, pressing his nose to the older's throat and tightening his arms around him to avoid the cool draft. He planned on completely ignoring whatever Wooyoung was up to for the time being.

The door fell shut and the air stilled.

Seonghwa didn't seem to notice, so Yunho took the opportunity to just stare for a bit. Even when Yunho loved the blushy mess Seonghwa became when he stared at the older, he also loved to see him relaxed like he was now. This was maybe his favourite part of his new human life. Just lying here, wrapped up in Seonghwa's arms, with the skylight above him.

Seonghwa had made the carpenter install a skylight, when no attempts at fixing the roof had worked.

That was something Yunho loved too.

For so long, he had only coexisted with the people, them never being aware that he was even alive, but now he existed _with_ them. They greeted him when they saw him. They talked to him when they caught him wandering around the grazing fields among the cows.

  
  


He welcomed how crowded Seonghwa's cottage had become over summer.

Wooyoung and San had decided to stay for a while, since Seonghwa had started to teach them some spells to avoid another Yunho-situation. Of course, Yunho had forgiven San, because San had never meant for this to happen, and back then, Yunho had also thought the prank was the most hilarious thing they had ever done. Yunho also liked to watch the way both of them gained some weight during the summer, as he still remembered how skinny San had been last summer.

Seonghwa's younger brother Yeosang came up to Yangdong for the first time in his life. He was soft and quiet and Yunho liked him from the second he entered the cottage with a scowl and said “Everything smells like grass”. Seonghwa had said something along the line of “I think I'm dreaming”, because according to him, Yeosang despised the outdoors and preferred staying indoors all day. It didn't keep Yeosang from following Jongho and his goats almost everywhere, though.

Jongho was nice to Yunho even when Yunho basically horded everyone's attention for a bit (especially Seonghwa's). He didn't like it when Yunho touched him, though, and Yunho was a bit hurt by that, until he found out that basically no one aside of Yeosang and occasionally Seonghwa were allowed to touch him for more than three seconds at a time. Yunho still tried to sometimes, just to irritate him a bit. Jongho was cute when he tried to look angry.

He had also met Hongjoong this summer, a close friend of Seonghwa and apparently, Mingi's long-time boyfriend. Yunho may have annoyed Hongjoong with questions about Mingi to the point where he physically left the mountain to go get Mingi, so Yunho would shut up. Maybe they both cried for three days straight when they met again, but that was no ones business but theirs.

Mingi had grown to almost the same height as Yunho, all without a bear-spell, but otherwise, he was still all the same as Yunho remembered him. They were still as clingy as they had been when they had been ten years old, and Seonghwa joked that they would fuse together if they kept doing things like this. But Yunho had missed Mingi, had missed his best friend so much, so he didn't let it bother him that everyone just assumed Mingi was cheating on Hongjoong in plain sight. He was just glad he had his best friend back.

Seonghwa's arm tightened around Yunho, a telltale sign that the older was about to wake up. Yunho smiled. Today was going to be eventful.

  
  


Sometimes, Yunho still wasn't sure his new life was real. And with “sometimes” he referred to this time specifically, standing as close to where the mountain broke into a cliff as he dared. It was still the early morning, the sun barely peeking out from behind the eastern mountain ridge and the sky painted pink. The cold air tickled in his nose and his throat as he watched a flock of birds ascend.

He closed his eyes and breathed in again, pulling the air deep into his lungs and holding it there. He heard someone approaching him from behind, but didn't open his eyes.

“Do you want to stay a few more days?” Seonghwa asked, voice soft.

Yunho opened his eyes and looked at the witch. His black hair was windswept in the most beautiful way, but his face was painted with worry not even the soft light of the morning could erase. Yunho didn't answer immediately, just turned back towards Yangdong, the village on the mountain. Since he had been turned back he had lived here, in Seonghwa's cottage, with their friends, and he had gotten used to it. He had gotten used to Hongjoong and Seonghwa bicker like they have been married for thirty years, and he had even gotten used to Wooyoung's habit of never shutting the door on his way out. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect in the valley.

He told Seonghwa so.

“I know,” Seonghwa said. “It must be hard for you. Leaving I mean. I get it.”

If it had been anyone else than Seonghwa saying that, Yunho wouldn't have believed them. But Seonghwa, Seonghwa was as much at home up here as Yunho was. And he knew that, if it had been possible, Seonghwa would stay in Yangdong with him. But it wasn't. Yangdong was too far up the mountain to be safe in winter for humans and witches alike, and Yunho wasn't protected by a thick fur anymore.

“ _Hyung_ , we don't know where my family is, or if they're even alive. San and Wooyoung will go back to their coven on the other side of the eastern mountains. Hongjoongie- _hyung_ and Mingi and Jongho live in Gampo. All I've known all summer will be gone.”

“I will still be here,” Seonghwa said, soft voice almost getting lost in the wind. But Yunho still heard him.

Tears welled in Yunho's eyes and Seonghwa's hands came up to cradle his cheeks to wipe them away. They weren't really tears of sadness, not entirely at least. Yunho was excited to experience the valley after so many years, but he was also so anxious. Seonghwa looked at him with the softest eyes, carressing Yunho's face like he was something precious.

“I'll still be here,” Seonghwa repeated, leaning forward. The kiss was soft, and Yunho's insides turned to warm goo. For a few seconds, he forgot about his worries, until Seonghwa pulled back enough to lean his forehead against Yunho's.

“It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay. And in spring, we come home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is it. The adventure of Seonghwa, the spellbreaker and Yunho, the bewitched, has ended.
> 
> This was pitched, by me, as "Beauty and the Beast meets Heidi"  
> Originally, there were a lot more Beauty and the Beast elements in this than there are now, and Seonghwa could, at one point, turn into a crow (the story was originally called "The Bear and the Crow"). The only remainder of that original idea is Seonghwa's feathered cloak.  
> The Heidi elements didn't turn out as well as I wanted them to, mainly because I realized that the English language straight up lacks the vocabulary for this. But if anyone wants to talk about Heidi, or the Swiss mountains (or mountains in general), or, of course, ATEEZ, then I am your gal, your local Swiss ATINY. Hit me up if you wanna talk, I'm on [tumblr](https://thecaptainofthisfleet.tumblr.com), or [twitter](https://twitter.com/thisismyfleet), but I rarely use twitter, so go for tumblr if you can. 
> 
> For anyone interested in further writings from me: there may or may not be a college au coming next Sunday, and I'm currently working on a different witch au that's _very_ long, and once I'm done editing that, I will be able to provide very regular updates for a _long_ time. It will be very dark though, so if you're going to stick around for that, please read the tags for the story and stay safe!
> 
> For now, I want to thank you guys for sticking around, leaving your kind comments and overall your interest in this kind of obscure ship, and very obscure idea. I hope you had as much of a blast as I had writing it, and I'll see you around!


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